Wichita eagle., 1887-07-28
WOMAN'S WATCHFUL EYE.
Women as Detectives Catch the Salient
Features of u Face at a C.Iance

Women as Detectives Catch the Salient
Features of a Face at a Glance.
One of Pinkerton's old detectives RECENTLY
gave reporter some interesting facts about
finding persons by description
Men," said he, "as a rule, are not so close
observers as women, and do not give what l
call detective descriptions of persons. If YOU
ask man to describe person he gives a
general description that will suit thousand
or so, having the same color of air and ewes.
/ remember trying to capture woman once
who was in league with some hiding counter
feiters. Several men described her in a gen.
eral way and l watched carefully the train
she was supposed to come into the CITY on
every day. / found half dozen on every
train that could have answered the descrin-
ton. After week of failure and chagrin
found a woman who had seen her and knew
enough to give me a description Her de-
scription had a strong detective point. only
one, but enough 1t was the peculiar wav
the counterfeiter did up her hair. That cue
brought ME success the next day. for I ar
rested the right woman, through woman,s
description. Another woman whom T ar
rested through description furnished by one
of her own sex was recognized by the way
she raised her eyelids. She had f1irty way
of looking out of her eyes, and her observing
sister of course noticed that REGULARITY at
once.
''The first thing that strikes a woman about
another person is almost invariably salient
feature and one which can be recognized
easily. Salient features are not so apt to
strike man; he is less observant. Once I
hunted a man with his right thumb off for
two weeks. | saw him every dav, but he
had false thumb on so | did not know him.
But he was a slick chap and most wonderful
in assuming DISCUSSES. | had him colnered in
a place once, as l thought, when a middle
aged man came out ard asked what was the
matter and wanted to know if he could helm
me. l wanted his help and asked him to
stand at a certain door That was the last
of him that night. He was the man was
looking for and had cleverIy disguised him.
self
at is easy to find man when YOU have
once seen him and have his features indelibly
impressed upon your memory. But in a
description you cannot so easily transfer the
photograph to another's mind Only one
thing is necessary to say about persons in
order to Identify them if it is in some promi-
nent characteristic If you will study a
human face closely you will find it has some
thing in it distinctive and different from
Others. The thing is to describe it. Crooks
and criminals do not disguise much these
days; their game is to keep concealed out of
the way of arrest. In Russia there Is such a.
system of espionage that nearly every man in
the empire has a correct description written
of him and entered upon the books of the
police. Even with this precaution thousands
of Nihilists escape detection. Stepniak, the
Nihilist, was fully known to the Russian DO
lice. Yet he made his escape and lives hap
PLY in London. Women in certain detective
work may do very well, but all around man
is far superior. New York Mail and Elk